‘Then make the time, Austen,’ she said, squeezing his hand. ‘You know who should really be taking care of her.’
She was right. He wasn’t totally out of options yet. Maybe, just maybe, they still had a chance.
Lynne beckoned the waiter over. ‘Hey, matey, do you mind just reheating that lasagne? I think he might be up to it now.’
The man lifted the plate and spirited it away as Penn wondered what the hell he had done to deserve this woman in his life.
‘Right, my work here is done,’ she said, standing.
He lifted his face for a kiss as she passed by. ‘I love you.’
‘Back atcha, partner,’ she said before heading for the door.
The waiter returned with his steaming plate of lasagne, and now he felt he could stomach it.
Perhaps they had one last ray of hope.
Sixty-Two
It was almost nine when Kim pulled up outside Stacey and Devon’s home.
After briefing Mitch on her need for Karen’s diary when he found it, she had followed her team in standing down for the night. She just had a welfare check to complete first. The weariness was seeping into her bones as she took the stairs up to the second floor.
The constable was already at the door so she didn’t have to knock.
‘How is she?’ Kim whispered as Stacey closed the door behind her.
‘Shell-shocked but resilient. I think acceptance is coming, but there’s nothing about this journey that’s helped by being separated from her dad.’
Kim agreed as she took a seat at the kitchen table, where a colouring book and some felt-tip pens lay.
‘Dee dropped them off in her break,’ Stacey said, moving them to the side.
Kim smiled. She really had made the right call bringing Ava here. There was enough love in this small flat to care for a dozen children.
‘She’s probably still awake if you want to check on her,’ Stacey said, nodding towards the spare bedroom.
‘You sure?’
Stacey nodded again, and Kim tapped the door lightly before opening it.
Ava was sitting up in bed with her knees pulled to her chest. Her prosthetic was on the bedside table next to a tube of cream and a stocking. She had a hand-held game lodged between her knees so she could play it with one hand. Ava had already had to think about more things than most kids her age, but she just got on with it. She adapted.
‘Hey, kiddo, what you playing there?’ Kim asked, approaching the bed.
‘Pac-Man,’ Ava said with a smile. ‘Devon found it in a box and got new batteries.’
Kim glanced around the room. Stacey and Devon’s possessions had been placed in a corner and covered with a daisy patterned throw. A row of fairy lights had been tacked around Ava’s bed. A projector on the dressing table was making the planets turn on the ceiling.
‘Devon popped out to Home Bargains before going to work,’ Stacey said from the doorway.
A rush of gratitude surged through her for the two women who had done so much more than give a kid a place to rest for a couple of nights.
‘So, how are you doing?’ Kim asked, taking a seat on the bed.
‘I miss Daddy. A lot.’
‘I know, sweetie, and he misses you too. I’ve told him what a brave girl you’re being, and he’s very proud of you.’
